chapter five ♔ it'll be a day like this one when the sky falls down

[eldritchweaver]

the blues - switchfoot

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || Failboat returns from the disaster in LA as the Knighthood goes on lockdown
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

Hasmed's announcement does not brook any rebuttal: all Knights are recalled to the Castle, where they must remain until the Section Heads and Jack Chessing have spoken about the events in Los Angeles that have left the Knighthood without their usual leader.  

The entire Los Angeles area is now covered with a dark miasma that has interfered with any signals that might be sent out from phones, etc., leaving the whole world wondering what exactly is happening down there.  Final images showed horrendous monsters, a panic of citizens, looting and violence from humans and Shadowkind alike.  

Hasmed has warned of extra magical wards on the castle, and anyone arriving will immediately take notice of one very prominent one: above the entire roof of the excessively large building hovers a black and red sigil in the air, a pentagram in a circle surrounded by runes or words in an unknown language, stretching for miles.  

[ This is the social log for post-LA lockdown.  Failboat must complete the top log before being allowed to tag outside of it. ]

Comments

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[pilgrimages]

[ returning to the castle after so long away is a difficult transition for zara, made worse by the appearance of hellsing. this is not the home she'd found when she arrived. if anything, it makes her miss her real home, in brazil.

at least it felt like thalor.

she takes an active effort in making herself known around the dragon's fire wing, getting to know especially those knights who hadn't been here when she first arrived. and when she reaches beyond it, it's often to find those who were involved in the mission with mystra, poseidon, and constantine. she's heard something about a kelpie and a summoning circle and not much else, but enough to recognize that people have been dealing with gods' magic while she's been away (knowledge local 14). anyone in that group can expect her to approach them.

she's always out and about, though, walking the halls, watching hellsing move in, keeping herself wrapped up in a cardigan with a cup of hot cocoa with chili because she's sorry to return to the bone-deep chill of the north. ]

[generaldavideus]

[David is hard to find at first, given that he was coming in from being off on a mission and went directly to find Stiles once he arrived, and then picking a fight with Solace that's partially frustration and grief and partially actual concern for how they plan to handle this moving forward. But eventually he does emerge for things like food and training, and where Zara happens to find him is the kitchen, fixing a sandwich quietly.

He looks up when Zara addresses him and nods.]

Can I help you?

[He's definitely never seen her before so ... ]

[pilgrimages]

You're David Levin, aren't you?

[ she looks him over and tbh he doesn't look like much. at least, not by her nation's standards. rough around the edges and bulky — markers of a life spent in physical labor. ]

I've heard you knew the sorceress who repaired the castle after it was invaded.

[generaldavideus]

Amara?

[So the answer to that is yes.]

Yeah, I knew her. Are you looking for her?

[Because she isn't here and he's been told not to go looking, even if he does kinda want to.]

[pilgrimages]

For people who knew her, at least. It's quite the feat of magic.

[generaldavideus]

Well, she was quite a powerful sorceress.

[He pauses for a moment, because he isn't sure if he should really talk about this, but it's not like Zara could stand a chance against her, really. No offense, Zara.]

She's Homo Magi.

[pilgrimages]

I've heard legends about the Homo Magi. Their blood was said to run with pure magic itself. They're a fairytale.

[ but apparently more than that. ]

[perambulate]

Between you and Ro, I'm feeling cold.

[ she is not the desert flower her two friends are and while she'd prefer to be closer to the water, england isn't as offensive to her system. she has her own mug, sipping a flowery tea as she reaches up to coax her hair back over her ears, keeping the slight points covered. ]

[pilgrimages]

This country is intolerable. What drives the wealthiest civilization in the world to lay roots down in a place like this? Where you couldn't even survive without shelter?

[perambulate]

Maybe the original settlers were like me.

[ maybe? she flunked history so she doesn't know/care ]

[pilgrimages]

Functionally immune to low temperatures?

[perambulate]

A preference to dampness.

[pilgrimages]

That's definitely just you.

[errantdetective]

[October isn't exactly Dragon's Fire, but she's a magic user, and she likes knowing what's going on with the other magic users here. She misses San Francisco and the Fae community she was a part of. It's not the same here, but at least with other magic users she can feel the familiar threads of power tangling around each other and catch the smells and sounds of different magics.

She eyes Zara as she comes in, taking note of the mug and the cardigan.]

Cold?

[Not that she's one to talk. Toby's kept her leather jacket on more than she necessarily needs to while inside. But that's more about feeling safe than feeling cold. It's the best armor she's got.]

[pilgrimages]

Reacclimating. It's ... been a while, since I was in England.

[ said to the tune of "and I fucking wish I were still gone, at this point." ]

[errantdetective]

[Toby sure feels that.]

Same. I'm normally in San Francisco. Nothing like an apocalypse to bring the family together, huh?

[pilgrimages]

How long has it been since you were out this way?

[errantdetective]

A few years. Before that it had been longer.

[Being stuck as a fish for fourteen years had kind of... complicated things.]

What about you?

[pilgrimages]

Oh, it must be ... six years? Now. I was just being promoted when I was last in England.

[felidity]

[ weirdly enough, the woman made in the lab of a shadowy pseudo-governmental paramilitary facility finds the arrival of hellsing to be, um. concerning. it's probably tied up in skye being shadowy and secretive herself, but she's ignoring all of that because that is a surprisingly good coping mechanism.

see? she's learning to be human just fine.

she'd gone to the dragon's fire wing to find malina, who is out somewhere else, so now she's just loitering around and peering at things without touching them because curiosity killed the cat is an idea kali genuinely believes in. also: ] Those are eyeballs. Gross. Awesome.

[pilgrimages]

I wouldn't observe from too close up. They're part of a rather delicate spell.

[ she approaches from behind Kali. ]

[felidity]

[ kali doesn't jump because she heard zara coming, but she does straighten up and take an appropriate step back, turning to the woman with big wide eyes. ]

What kind of spell?

[pilgrimages]

Eyes are usually used for divining. Scrying, clairvoyance ... [ she waves a hand over it to cast a silent image that turns obscures the vat of eyes in a delicate glass vase (dc 16). ] Were you here looking for something in particular?

[felidity]

[ oh yay magic! when the eyes turn into the vase, kali beams because she will never be tired of magic? it's exciting! ]

I was looking for Malina. This isn't my sect.

[pilgrimages]

That much I had guessed.

[ omg she's adorable. ]

But I haven't seen her. If you give me your name, I can tell her you stopped by the next time she comes through.